The Groundtruth from a combat veteran, backed up by independent research and historical study. Information beneficial to the Troops. And a touch of objective politics, as it relates to the subjects at hand.

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SSgt Workman is featured in the Hall of Heroes and a book review on this from Marine Till Death that read it as it was written: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/shadow-of-the-sword-by-jeremiah-workman-w-john-bruning.html

http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/ssgt-jeremiah-workman-navy-cross-usmc-iraq-marion-oh.html and links to prior articles.

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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Rumors & News Bring Out Old News

An Official speaking on "condition of anonymity" broke the story that General McKiernan would be replaced by General McChrystal today. This sent WOTN in search of background on the potentially incoming Commander, even as it riles us that there is so little discipline in the MSM and apparently DoD to wait a few hours for the official record, official briefing.

We would expect that the "heads up" was not intended to be used in the manner it was, but to give the media a chance to collect some background information on the potential incoming Commander.

On the same day that it is being reported that someone "flew the coop" in a Baghdad Stress Clinic, killing his fellow Warriors at Camp Liberty, this appointment results in searches that bring up an old "friendly fire" story. Major General McChrystal was the (seemingly) first to officially question the origin of the bullets that killed Specialist Patrick Tillman.

Unfortunately, the case of Tillman has been politicized and divisive. It's a case that I've seldom commented on outside of heated discussions with one of my closest ex-teammates. He and I disagree significantly on the handling of the case, the results of it, and the reasons for the way it was handled.

We agree that Tillman was an outstanding Soldier and that his Honor is in no way diminished by the origin of the fatal bullet. We agree that his case would not be in the news if he were less famous. We agree that he attempted to downplay his fame in order to be judged on the merits of his service.

We disagree on the handling of the case and the meanings of the repercussions. It took 5 weeks for the "truth" to be reported to the family. It took one week for the origin of the bullet to be questioned. I would speculate that the question arose at Dover AFB during the autopsy. The timing points to that.

Whether or not the family should have been notified of the investigation at that point is questionable in my mind. Evidently, it is Army Policy that they should have been. If it were my family, I would want the investigation kept under wraps until conclusive. If it were my buddy that shot the wrong person in the fog of war, I would not want my family stressed about that, until all the knowable facts were known. I would not want them questioning the Honor of my Teammates, until it was known whether it was an accident or not.

A General who was not present at the fateful scene was censured for the situation. LTG Phillip Kensinger was the commander of US Special Operations Command and far from the battlefield. He was criticized by Congress for not convening a "safety board" to investigate. In my analysis LTG Kensinger became the scapegoat for a political football.

CID concluded there was no criminal intent in Tillman's death. Nevertheless, Seven Soldiers received UCMJ punishment in the case. At least one will have to live with the guilt for the rest of his life. If doubt remains in the minds of those present that day, more than one may harbor guilt for things that should have gone differently, but did not. "Friendly Fire" incidents are down tremendously from past wars, but are always a concern and the Military rightfully seeks to reduce it to zero, but today's news demonstrates that it is an elusive goal.

I don't know the reasons that General McKiernan may suddenly be replaced by General McChrystal. I won't speculate, but it is the Commander's Responsibility to give the Leaders in the field the tools they need to succeed and if the junior leader's results are inadequate or unsatisfactory, to then replace that leader. The incoming (rumored) General appears to be accomplished and have integrity. I will afford him the same respect and hope this change is being done for the right reasons. I have not always agreed with the outgoing (rumored) General, but I am not privy to all the information that has crossed his desk. I am not in the position to openly question him, nor his decisions. He has been the "Commander on the Ground," and I have to hope that he afforded the same deferrence to decisions of those in the battle as we afford him.

We hope the incoming Commander (rumored) the same trust from higher that we have argued must be given the outgoing. We hope the incoming Commander wise enough to allow battlefield commanders the command that their presence in battle requires. We hope this decision is made for the right reasons.

General Censured for Tillman Investigation Mistakes

By Gerry J. GilmoreAmerican Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2007 – The Army’s senior civilian announced today that a retired three-star general will receive a letter of censure as the result of a review of previous military investigations into the death of Army Spc. Patrick D. Tillman. (Video)

Secretary of the Army Peter Geren (left) and Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody (right) hold a joint press conference at the Pentagon, July 31, 2007, to discuss the mishandling of the investigation into the death of Cpl. Patrick Tillman. Tillman, a safety for the National Football League's Arizona Cardinals, enlisted in the Army following the terrorist attacks of 2001 and was serving in Afghanistan as an Army ranger at the time of his death, in April 2004. Defense Dept. photo by R. D. Ward (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Secretary of the Army Pete Geren said a “perfect storm” of events initially obfuscated the facts regarding the April 22, 2004, death of Tillman, an Army Ranger who was killed by friendly fire near the Afghan-Pakistani border. Tillman, a former National Football League star, was initially reported to have died as a result of enemy fire.

After reading a review of previous Tillman investigations performed by Army Gen. William S. Wallace, commander of U.S. Training and Doctrine Command, Geren said he decided to issue a letter of censure to retired Army Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, who’d commanded U.S. Army Special Operations Command at the time of Tillman’s death.

“I believe the buck stops with General Kensinger,” Geren said. “He was the senior leader in the chain of command for administrative control for the 75th Ranger Regiment.”

If Kensinger “had performed his duty, we wouldn’t be standing here today,” Geren said to reporters at a Pentagon news conference today.

Geren cited Kensinger for multiple failures, including failing to initiate a timely Army safety investigation into Tillman’s death, giving false statements during follow on investigations, failing to notify the Tillman family about the fratricide investigation as well as failing to notify then-Acting Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee about the friendly-fire investigation.

Kensinger should have convened a safety board upon being notified that Tillman died from friendly fire, Geren said.

“That safety board would have been an outside group of eyes. It would have gone into theater and it would have immediately commenced an investigation,” Geren pointed out. The safety board “would have added an outside chain-of-command review of this situation as well as recommendations on how we make sure it didn’t happen again,” Geren said.

Kensinger, responsible for notifying Tillman’s relatives that the cause of the soldier’s death was under investigation, didn’t, Geren said.

Information surrounding Tillman’s death was initially closely held by officers and enlisted members of his unit, the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. That’s partially because the unit’s mission was classified and also because officials were waiting for the initial investigations to be concluded, approved and released, Gen. Richard A. Cody, the vice chief of staff of the Army, said at the news conference.

Tillman’s family was first told their son had died by enemy fire. They weren’t told he’d been mistakenly shot by U.S. troops until weeks after his death. Tillman’s parents should have been notified much, much sooner that the soldier had actually died by accidental friendly fire, Cody said.

“The mission that they were on in Afghanistan was a classified mission,” Cody confirmed. However, Tillman’s family should have been notified about his death and if there were any questions as to how he died, Cody added.

“And, that’s where this thing broke down,” Cody said.

Yet, “all the investigations found that everybody was trying to seek the truth and be 100 percent sure” that Tillman was killed by friendly fire, Cody said.

Geren also has directed an Army grade determination board to evaluate Kensinger’s performance as a lieutenant general. If Kensinger’s performance was found wanting by the board his retired rank could be reduced by one star to major general, affecting his retired pay and benefits.

Wallace reviewed 10 soldiers for possible fault as part of the Tillman investigations. Seven soldiers, including Kensinger, received non-judicial punishment.

On March 26, the Army announced that a DoD inspectors general report and a U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command inspection agreed that Tillman had been accidentally shot and killed by members of his own unit. The CID report concluded that there was no criminal intent involved with Tillman’s death, noting that soldiers in Tillman’s unit bore him no ill will.

Geren and Cody apologized to Tillman’s family, noting there was no intentional cover up over the circumstances of his death. Tillman, who was posthumously promoted to corporal, justly received the Silver Star medal for his service in Afghanistan, Geren said.

The Army “mishandled this matter from very early on,” Geren said, noting he understood how Tillman’s family and many other Americans could conclude there was a cover up.

However, “the facts just don’t support that conclusion,” the secretary asserted.

“The facts show clearly that there was no cover up. There was misinformed action on the part of multiple soldiers and you had a ‘perfect storm’ of mistakes by many soldiers,” Geren said.

It is long-standing defense department policy to not discuss any type of sanctions for officers below general officer grade, Geren said.

“So, everybody else that was reviewed by General Wallace or was sanctioned as a member of the Ranger team were below general officer grade and we don’t discuss those sanctions publicly,” Geren said.

Comments

Rumors & News Bring Out Old News

An Official speaking on "condition of anonymity" broke the story that General McKiernan would be replaced by General McChrystal today. This sent WOTN in search of background on the potentially incoming Commander, even as it riles us that there is so little discipline in the MSM and apparently DoD to wait a few hours for the official record, official briefing.

We would expect that the "heads up" was not intended to be used in the manner it was, but to give the media a chance to collect some background information on the potential incoming Commander.

On the same day that it is being reported that someone "flew the coop" in a Baghdad Stress Clinic, killing his fellow Warriors at Camp Liberty, this appointment results in searches that bring up an old "friendly fire" story. Major General McChrystal was the (seemingly) first to officially question the origin of the bullets that killed Specialist Patrick Tillman.

Unfortunately, the case of Tillman has been politicized and divisive. It's a case that I've seldom commented on outside of heated discussions with one of my closest ex-teammates. He and I disagree significantly on the handling of the case, the results of it, and the reasons for the way it was handled.

We agree that Tillman was an outstanding Soldier and that his Honor is in no way diminished by the origin of the fatal bullet. We agree that his case would not be in the news if he were less famous. We agree that he attempted to downplay his fame in order to be judged on the merits of his service.

We disagree on the handling of the case and the meanings of the repercussions. It took 5 weeks for the "truth" to be reported to the family. It took one week for the origin of the bullet to be questioned. I would speculate that the question arose at Dover AFB during the autopsy. The timing points to that.

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Ace Of Spades: Why Language MattersIn this article, Ace of Spades demonstrates how the writing style of "journalists" and other writers is purposely used to influence the electorate. He explains this far better than I have been able to do, but this is the foundation of why I could no longer be silent.